PRESS DIGEST- Canada- Feb 6

Feb 6 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories from selected Canadian newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

THE GLOBE AND MAIL

** Police believe two Liberal operatives, including one of Premier Kathleen Wynne's top aides, broke the law by offering a former candidate a government job in exchange for dropping out of the Sudbury by-election race. (bit.ly/1yPUAX9)

** Canadian universities have used the temporary foreign worker program to recruit for about a quarter of their new permanent jobs over the last five years. Schools are urging the government to relax new rules that they say are hurting their ability to recruit internationally. (bit.ly/1Kxr3Hs)

** Ontario's First Nations leaders are demanding the National Energy Board halt its review of TransCanada Corp's Energy East project until they can be properly consulted. In a letter to Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford, Ontario regional chief Stan Beardy said First Nations have "grave concern" about the NEB process, saying the board has been inaccessible and unwilling to share information with them. (bit.ly/1znsUfY)

NATIONAL POST

** The Harper government struck a provocative pose Thursday, telling Russia to "back off" in Ukraine, promising to campaign for NATO membership on behalf of another former Soviet republic and urging all allies to do more. (bit.ly/18TKy1b)

** Ottawa MPP Lisa MacLeod will drop out of the race for provincial Progressive Conservative leader Friday morning, but she hasn't made up her mind about whether she'll run for federal office. "That may not be the answer anyone wants immediately, but it's the answer I have," she said in an interview over tea in a Barrhaven cafe. "I'll make that decision in the next week." (bit.ly/1C08ozr)

** DVD and Blu-ray rental company Redbox is shutting down its Canadian operations and pulling its rental kiosks out of Canada. Chicago-based Redbox announced that it made the decision after failing to generate sufficient business at its 1,400 rental kiosks across the country. (bit.ly/1znw3N1) (Compiled by Zara Mascarenhas in Bengaluru)